Jasmyne Cannick: The bottom line is that they can draw all the Black voter-friendly districts they want but if Blacks continue on this mass exodus to the South, there won’t be enough Blacks left to vote anyone into office and the ones that are left won’t have the same adoration for the political process as their ancestors.

Unai Montes-Irueste: Unless these drafts are redrawn, California Latinos will be robbed of the Congressional and Legislative representation we deserve—despite the fact that these draft maps were drawn using the very same Census data that attributes 90% of California’s population growth between 2000 and 2010 to Latino youth and migrants.

Sylvia Moore: This year’s Just Media: L.A. Media Reform Summit, held Feb. 26 at Occidental College, drew 200 activists, speakers and concerned members of the public for an all-day conference on how to build a better news and information environment for our communities.

John Peeler’s work for the LA Progressive draws on his extensive experience as a political science professor and researcher, coupled with a deep desire to move the country’s political conversation in more progressive directions.

LGBT Rights

Irene Monroe: Long before June officially became Gay Pride Month, and October “Coming Out Month” for the LGBTQ community, Halloween was unofficially our yearly celebrated “holiday,” dating as far back at the 1970s when it was a massive annual street party in San Francisco’s Castro district.

The Middle East

Richard Greeman: Anti-government demonstrations spread across Morocco after social media spread the story of Mousine Fikri, a fishmonger crushed to death inside a garbage truck as he tried to block the destruction of a truckload of his fish confiscated by police.